Mattia Destro has pledged to “shave off my beard” if he scores against Juventus tonight and reveals why he chose Roma ahead of the Bianconeri.

MattiaDestro has pledged to “shave off my beard” if he scores against Juventus tonight and reveals why he chose Roma ahead of the Bianconeri.

The Italian international is still looking for his first goal in a Giallorossi jersey and hopes to break that duck tonight. Click here for a match preview.[12]

“There has to be a first time. At least I hope so...” he told Tuttosport. “I made big mistakes in the draw with Sampdoria, as on the first chance I should’ve volleyed it and on the second I tried a chip.

“When I play badly, I am the first to recognise it. A Roma striker has to score when he has a great opportunity. The goal is everything for a forward and if you don’t score then you start thinking about it constantly, focusing on mistakes and playing incidents over in your mind. There’s no way out.”

Destro has made a pledge for tonight’s game at the Juventus Stadium.

“My beard brought me good luck last season and I like it, but I promise that if I score against Gigi Buffon tonight, I will shave it off.”

Ex-Siena hitman Destro was at the centre of a transfer tug-of-war with Juventus and Roma over the summer, eventually opting for the Olimpico side.

“It was not easy. At the end of the day I decided to play for Roma because they told me that with Zdenek Zeman the strikers are more likely to score lots of goals. In theory, at least!

“All joking aside, apart from the Coach I also chose to come here because there is a strong project based on young players. Reading the papers there certainly seemed to be a strong interest from Juventus.

“Would I play abroad? Until recently I would’ve said no, but now I think England or Spain would be fun.”